Material separator



Oct. 1, 1957 F. H. CLUTE MATERIAL SEFARATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 2, 1956 INVENTORQ Fre a's-,9 LII/ta BY I MATERIAL SEPARATOR Filed April 2, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet? INVEN TOR.

United States Patent MATERIAL SEPARATOR Francis H. Clute, Rocky Ford, Colo., assignor to The Clute Corporation, Rocky Ford, Colo., a corporation of Colorado Application April 2, 1956, Serial No. 575,461

12 Claims. (Cl. 209-144) This invention relates to a mineral or seed separator, and primarily to ore sorting apparatus for separating comminuted or pulverized metalliferous material from its 'gangue through employment of artificial currents of air directed through a novel separator and a collector for the lighter particles that are separated from the material by the action of combined cyclonic and straight air flow through the said separatorL 7 It is the primary object of the instant invention to provide a mineral separator employing opposed, substantially semi-conical air flow passages alongside a primary passage for free vertical flow of air to create cyclonic air movements that operate to draw lighter particles spirally inward toward the center of such semi-conical passages from the primary portion and permit heavier particles to return by gravitation to the inlet of the separator.

The most important object of the present invention consists in the provision of a separator for comminuted material that recognizes the phenomenon of :cyclonic air movements in the northern hemisphere which is clockwise, and wherein air moves spirally inward toward the center of the cyclone for the purpose of drawing lighter particles outwardly in opposite directions from the center of the separator and force the same into a collector that communicates with the outlet of the separator at the uppermost end of the latter.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide separating apparatus for comminuted material having particles of difierent specific gravities and adapted to handle material wherein the mineral is heavier than its gangue as efliciently as the apparatus handles material having a mineral that is lighter than its gangue.

Mineral separators employing a straight flow of air have heretofore been suggested and employed, but for the most part the same are only approximately 50% eflicient and when the same operate on a forced draft principle, an extremely dusty condition is presented. Furthermore, those heretofore employed which operate on a suction principle as in the instant invention, are incapable of preventing a substantial flow of the lighter particles beyond a point of collection.

In' accordance with the principles of the instant invention, separation is confined within an upright tube or body and through use of suction the fine particles are separated from a straight flow of air by a pair of opposed cyclonic air movements which are created on opposite sides of such straight air flow. The two cyclonic motions create a suction that operates to pull the light particles out of the straight flow of air, thereby permitting the heavier particles to drop out of the separator tube. The light particles are thereupon conveyed to a collector within which they are dropped andnot permitted to pass out of the collector through the air discharge tube which communicates with the collector.

A dead air space is provided in surrounding relationship to the air outlet tube to prevent passage of even fine dust to the suction fan. Furthermore, the collector itself ice 2 is in the form of a pair of relatively telescoped cones to deaden the suction within the collector and permit feeding of the lighter particles from the lowermostend of the collector. p I

Reference may be had to the accompanying drawings and following specification for a more detailed explanation of the material separator and in the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side-elevational view of a mineral sepa-' rator made pursuant to my present invention, parts being broken away for clearness; v V

Fig. 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken on line II-II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken on line IIIIII of Fig. 1; f j

Fig. 4 is a front-elevati'onal view of the mineral separator; and i 1 Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are transverse cross sectional views taken on corresponding section lines illustrated in Fig. 4ofthe drawings. 7

The structure shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings includes four essential components, namely, a separator 10, a collector 14, air passage means 16, and a conventional separating device 18, the latter of which may well be quite conventional in that the same employs a. plurality of sizing screens for initial separation of mineral from its gangue. 1 i

The separator 10 is in the nature of an elongated upright body or tube that includes a pair of flat, spacedapart, side walls 20 and 22, both of which progressively decrease in widths as the uppermost ends thereof are approached. The side walls20and 22 also converge relatively as the lowermost ends thereof are approached as is evident in Figs. 5 to 77, inclusive. Separator 10 includes a lowermost portion 24 that may be of uniform width, height and thickness and of substantially rectangular con: tour as shown in Fig. 8. The lowermost end of the portion 24 is open to present a first inlet and an elongated slot 26 in one side of the portion'24 adjacent the upper end of the latter presents a second inlet. It can be seen, therefore, that the distance between the walls 20'and 22 and their widths at the lowermost ends of walls 20 and 22 correspond with the width and thickness of the lower portion 24 and form a continuation thereof.

The side Walls 20 and 22 are interconnected by end walls 28 and 30 that progressively increase in width as the uppermost ends thereof are approached as seen in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 and as is apparent in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Consequently, the separator 10 progressively decreases in width between the portion 24 and the upper ends of the side walls 20-22 and end walls 28-30, and progressively increases in thickness or horizontal depth as the uppermost end thereof is approached.

Side walls 20 and 22 are provided with outwardly bulged, substantially semi-conical portions 32 and 34, respectively, extending throughout the lengths thereof and progressively increasing in diameter as the uppermost ends thereof are approached as again seen best in Figs. 5-7. The semi-conical portions 32 and 34 merge at the upper ends thereof and diverge relatively as the inlet slot 26 is approached. There is presented, therefore, a central primary passage 36 for free straight vertical flow of air in the separator 10 from separator portion 24 to the upper end of the separator ltl and a pair of opposed secondary air passages 38 and 4t),v one on each side of the primary passage 36 and communicating therewith. Attention is specifically called to the fact that, at this point, the passages 38 and 40 are in opposed relationship with respect toa vertical plane intersecting theprimary passage 36in parallelism to'the walls 20 and 22 for proper pulling action'of cyclonic currents of Patented "Oct. 1, 1957 air created within passages 38 and 40 as will hereinafter be'madc clear. a

The passages 36, 38 and 40 all communicate with a single collecting plenum 42 forming the upper end of the separator 10 and extended into a lateral branch 44 which communicates tangentially with the collector 14 asbest seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

The collector 14 is in the nature of a pair of cones 46 and 48 which are relatively telescoped, the lowermost ei'id of the cone 46-extending into the uppermost end of cone 48 as illustrated in Fig. l. The upper end of the cone 46 is provided with a cylindrical portion 50 and it is with such portion Q that the laterally extending branch 44 of ple num 42 extends. V

The air passage 16 includes a discharge tube 5; that extends into the upper end of the cylindrical portion 50 and communicates with a suctionfan (not shown). More specifically, the discharge tube 52 extends into a pipe 5 4 that is elosed at the upper end thereof and extends through the top wall of cylindrical portion 50, presenting a. de a r aceifi u roun n h tube 52, The cone 43 terminates at the lowermost. end thereof in a cylindrical spout 58 normally closed by a weighted, hingeddoorGD, that automatically releases the material in a'continuous feed in direct ratio to the input into collector 14.

' The coarse or rough separator 18 is associated with the separator '10 adjacent, theportion 24 of the latter in the manner shown by Fig, 1. so that its screenings may either be fed into the air stream at the lowermost open end of the rectangularportion 24, or through inletv slot 2 6 It is noted that screen separator 18 is provided with a terminus 62 extending beneath the lower end of the rectangular portion 24 and with spout means 64 communicatingwith the -inlet slot 26. v

The inlet slot '26 is employed whenever the comminuted material contains minerals that are heavier than the gangue to beremoved therefrom, as in the case of tungsten, gold and the like, and wheneverthe separator is used for that purpose the relatively heavy mineral grayitates from the separator v through the lowermost openend of theportion 24thcreof whereas the gangue is carriedupwardly anddepositedin the collector 14.

However, whenthe mineral to'be separated is lighter than its gangue, as in the case ofmica, the-comminuted materials are fed, to the air stream at the lowermost open end of the portion .24 of separator 10. In that instance, the mica is deposited in the collector 14 whereas the heavier gangue is/discharged through the lowermost open endofcollector, 10. However, it has also been. found 'that lighter minerals. such as mica may also be satisfactorily separated .by slot 26. 1

In either event, the material initially moves upwardly within the passage 36v of'c'ollector 10- and by virtue of the cyclonic movement of the air in the passages 38 and 40 the lighter, particles, are drawn laterally into the passages 38 and 40 from the passage 36. This action takes place by virtue of the naturaltendency of the spirallywhirling air to move inwardly toward the center ,of the passages 38 and 40. within the passage 36 between side walls 20 and 22 gravitate back to the lowermost inlet end of the portion 24 ofcollector 10. i Q

The light particles that are removed from the passage 36 are conveyed upwardly through the passages 38 and 40 into the plenum 42 and are'di'scharged spirally into the cylindrical portion 50' o'f collector 14 by virtue of tangential relationship of the 'later'aljhranch 44 to the collector 14.

The provision of dead air space 56 surrounding the discharge pipe 52 prevents even the finest dustymaterial from passing outwardly through the air passage 16 to the suction fan by virtue'of the fact. that the'particles feeding the same through inlet The heavier particles however,

entering the cylinder 50 strike the pipe 54 and are projected back into the spiral air stream.

The provision of cone 48 surrounding the lowermost foremost end of cone 46 deadens the suction within collector 14 and thereby permits discharging the collected particles from the collector 14 upon opening of door 60.

It has been found that separations will be made Wherein there is virtually no more than one-tenth of one percent dilference in specific gravity. When the mineral to be separated is free from its gangue it is possible to obtain concentrates up to a grade of 99-plus percent, and when the mineral that is to be separated is attached to the gangue the grade of the ore can be raised from 40% to The efliciency of the separator is evident by the fact that even in the case of mica wherein the mineral is substantially the same weight at its gangue. a high concentrate of mineral can be separated. The efiiciency of the machine, of. course, is dependent upon the separation of the mineral fromlits gangue, all ofwhich must be performed in. theusual manner 'by regrinding, smeltering or other processing. In otherhwords, if the mineral readilyseparates from its gangue, the resultant concentrate is relatively free of foreign material through use of the mineral separator just above described.

While the above description of the separator forming the subject matter. of the instant invention has been discussed primarily in connection with the sorting of ore, it is now readily apparent that the same is readily adaptable for use in separating virtually any materials that might be co-mingled andhave different specific gravities. For instance, thescparator has been used successfully in the separation of wheat from barley, dodder from alfalfa and shells from pecan meats. Through use of the separator additionally, the germination of beet, zinnia, cantaloupe and watermelon seeds hasbeen raised from 50% to 99%. Accordingly,v it is seen thatthrough use of the above-dcscribed invention a wide range of materials may be successfully separated.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent-is:

l. Separating apparatus for comminuted material having particles of ditferent specific gravities comprising an upright body having an inlet, and an outlet spaced above the inlet, said body being hollow. for flow. of artificial currents of. air fromthe inletto the outlet, there being a pair of opposed, substantially semi-conical portions forming a part of said body andprogressively decreasing in diameter as said inletlis approached for cyclonic flow of said air, and a central portion communicatingwith the semi-conical portions therebetweenfor free vertical flow of said air, whereby lighter particlesaredrawn from the central portion into the semi-conical portions and carried to said outlet, and heavier particles return by gravity within the central portion to the inlet when the material is introduced into the air stream at said inlet.

2. Separating apparatus for comminuted material having particles of different specific gravities comprising an upright body havinganinlet, and-an outlet spaced-above the inlet, said body being hollow-for flow of artificial currents of air from the inlet to the outlet, there'being a pair of opposed substantiallysemi-conical portions forming a part of saidibody, said semi-conical, portions diverging and progressivelydecreasing iii/diameteras said inlet is-approached for. cyclonic flow of said air, and a central portion communicating with thc semi-conical portions therebetweenforfreeverticalflow of said air, whereby lighter particles aredrawnfrom the centralportion into the semiconicaLpOIftions,andcarried to said outlet, and heavier particles return by gravity. within the central portion to the inlet when the material is introduced into the air stream at said inlet.

3- Sep ating p a a s r o m nut erial having particles of difierent specific gravities comprising an upriglit.body .having an inlet, and an outlet spaced above the inlet, said body being hollow for flow of artificial currents of air from the inlet to the outlet, there being a pair of opposed, substantially semi-conical portions forming a part of said body and progressively decreasing in diam eter as said inlet is approached for cyclonic flow of said air, said semi-conical portions being disposed on opposite sides of a central vertical plane through the body, and a central portion communicating with the semi-conical portions therebetween for free vertical flow of said air, whereby lighter particles are drawn from the central portion into the semi-conical portions and carried to said outlet, and heavier particles return by gravity within the central portion to the inlet when the material is introduced into the air stream at said inlet.

4. Separating apparatus for comminuted material having particles of diiferent specific gravities comprising an elongated upright body having an inlet, and an outlet spaced above the inlet, said body being hollow for flow of artificial currents of air from the inlet to the outlet, the transverse, cross-sectional contour of the body being substantially rectangular at the inlet, there being a pair of opposed, substantially semi-conical portions forming a part of said body and progressively decreasing in diameter as said inlet is approached for cyclonic flow of said air, and a central portion communicating with the semiconical portions therebetween for free vertical flow of said air, whereby lighter particles are drawn from the central portion into the semi-conical portions and carried to said outlet and heavier particles return by gravity within the central portion to the inlet when the material is introduced into the air stream at said inlet.

5. Separating apparatus for comminuted material having particles of difierent specific gravities comprising an elongated upright body having an inlet, and an outlet spaced above the inlet, said body being hollow for flow of artificial currents of air from the inlet to the outlet, the transverse, cross-sectional contour of the body being substantially rectangular at the inlet, with the thickness thereof appreciably less than the width thereof, there being a pair of opposed, substantially semi-conical portions forming a part of said body and progressively decreasing in diameter as said inlet is approached for cyclonic flow of said air, and a central portion communicating with the semi-conical portions therebetween for free vertical flow of said air, whereby lighter particles are drawn from the central portion into the semi-conical portions and carried to said outlet and heavier particles return by gravity within the central portion to the inlet when the material is introduced into the air stream at said inlet.

6. Separating apparatus for comminuted material having particles of difierent specific gravities comprising an elongated upright body having an inlet, and an outlet spaced above the inlet, said body being hollow for flow of artificial currents of air from the inlet to the outlet, the transverse, cross-sectional contour of the body being substantially rectangular at the inlet, with the thickness thereof appreciably less than the width thereof, there being a pair of opposed, substantially semi-conical portions forming a part of said body and progressively decreasing in diameter as said inlet is approached for cyclonic flow of said air, the body progressively decreasing in thickness as the inlet is approached, and a central portion communicating with the semi-conical portions therebetween for free vertical flow of said air, whereby lighter particles are drawn from the central portion into the semi-conical portions and carried to said outlet and heavier particles return by gravity within the central portion to the inlet when the material is introduced into the air stream at said inlet.

7. Separating apparatus for comminuted material having particles of different specific gravities comprising an elongated upright body having an inlet, and an outlet spaced above the inlet, said body being hollow for flow of artificial currents of air from the inlet to the outlet, the transverse, cross-sectional contour of the body being substantially rectangular at the inlet, with the thickness thereof appreciably less than the width thereof, the body progressively increasing in width as the inlet is approached, there being a pair of opposed, substantially semi-conical portions forming a part of said body and progressively decreasing in diameter as said inlet is approached for cyclonic-flow of said air, and a central portion communicating with the semi-conical portions therebetween for free vertical flow of said air, whereby lighter particles are drawn from the central portion into the semi-conical portions and carried to said outlet, and heavier particles return by gravity within the central portion to the inlet when the material is introduced into the air stream at said inlet.

8. Separating apparatus for comminuted material having particles of difierent specific gravities comprising an elongated upright body having an inlet, and an outlet spaced above the inlet, said body being hollow for flow of artificial currents of air from the inlet to the outlet, the transverse, cross-sectional contour of the body being substantially rectangular at the inlet, with the thickness thereof appreciably less than the width thereof, the body progressively increasing in width andprogressively decreasing in thickness as the inlet is approached, there being a pair of opposed, substantially semi-conical portions forming a part of said body and progressively decreasing in diameter as said inlet is approached for cyclonic flow of said air, and a central portion communicating with the semi-conical portions therebetween for free vertical flow of said air, whereby lighter particles are drawn from the central portion into the semi-conical portions and carried to said outlet, and heavier particles return by gravity within the central portion to the inlet when the material is introduced into the air sream at said inlet.

9. Separating apparatus for comminuted material having particles of different specific gravities comprising an elongated, upright, hollow body having a pair of spaced, fiat, interconnected side walls, each progressively decreasing in width as the uppermost ends thereof are approached and diverging relatively as said uppermost ends thereof are approached, each side wall being provided with an arcuate, outwardly bulged, substantially semiconical portion along one upright edge thereof progressively increasing in diameter and converging relatively as said uppermost ends of the side walls are approached, said body having an inlet, and an outlet spaced above the inlet for free vertical flow of artificial currents of air between said side walls from the inlet to the outlet, and for cyclonic flow of said air within said portions, whereby lighter particles are drawn from between said side walls into said portions and carried to said outlet, and heavier particles return by gravity between said side walls to the inlet when the material is introduced into the air stream at said inlet.

10. Separating apparatus for comminuted material having particles of different specific gravities comprising in combination, a hollow collector having an air discharge tube thereinto through the uppermost end thereof; and an elongated, upright, hollow body having a pair of spaced, flat, interconnected side walls, each progressively decreasing in width as the uppermost ends thereof are approached and diverging relatively as said uppermost ends thereof are approached, each side wall being provided with an arcuate, outwardly bulged, substantially semi-conical portion along one upright edge thereof progressively increasing in diameter and converging relatively as said uppermost ends of the side walls are approached, said body having an inlet, and an outlet spaced above the inlet and communicating tangentially with said collector for free vertical flow of artificial currents of air between said side walls from the inlet to the outlet, and for cyclonic fiow of said air within said portions, whereby lighter particles are drawn from between said side walls into said portions and carried through said v7 8 outlet to the collector and heavier particles return by 12. Separating apparatus as set forth in claim 10 gravitybetween said side walls to the inlet when the mawherein said collector is provided with a pairof superterial is introduced into the air stream at said inlet. imposed cones, the lowermost end of the upper cone #111; Separatingapparatus as set forth in claim 10 being partially telescoped into the uppermostend' of th wherein said collector is provided with an open bottom 5 lower cone. p r v pipe surrounding the tube within the collector for creatp 7 r ing a dead air, space between the tube and the pipe to N0 references citedprevent passage.of;said lighter particles through the tube. 

